Filed under: Newcastle, Premier League, Football, On The Bench
It sounds like something out of a 1960s comic strip, and if it had been forwarded as a plotline for that notoriously outlandish TV guilty pleasure Footballers' Wives, it would no doubt have been politely declined for being rather too far-fetched.This time last year, Michael Richardson was a trainee electrician, playing football in his spare time for renowned local club Walker Central and supporting Newcastle United, as he has been all his life, from the stands at St James' Park.
Fast-forward what has been a quite amazing 12 months for the flame-haired midfielder, and the 19-year-old is living just about every young Geordie's dream playing for his hometown club. What's more, he's not a million miles away from breaking into Alan Pardew's first team.
Newcastle may have a scouting network that extends all over Europe, but the legacy of having to pay £15 million for Alan Shearer after letting their legendary forward slip through their grasp at the outset of his career means they keep an even closer eye on the talent developing on their doorstep these days.
As the £35 million sale of Andy Carroll highlighted recently, it's a system that more than pays for itself.
A sparky turned Premier League footballer? It's a racing certainty the newspaper headline-writers are willing the speedy winger to be handed a chance to show his impressive form for the reserves on the bigger stage.
The atmosphere would be, ahem, electric. "I've got a soft spot for Michael," the manager admitted. "He has a great attitude and he's pushed himself ahead of a few others."
A goal in a stand-out personal performance in the recent 2-1 defeat by Manchester United reserves, in front of the watching Pardew, certainly did little harm to the former Kenton School pupil's chances of fulfilling his ultimate ambition of running out in front of a packed St James' Park.
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Source: http://www.fanhouse.co.uk/2011/05/05/on-the-bench-with-newcastles-bright-spark-michael-richardso/
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